Last Hope
by Flying Iridescent Llamas
Summary: With shaking hands, Dawn held out the mask towards Arceus. For a long moment, it seemed as though Arceus wasn't going to obey. / Solutions are found at long last and the dorks can finally relax. (Haudion/Cutebonesshipping/Sunandcloudshipping, eighth in the Isolation series)


Written for theme #94, "Last Hope".

Thanks to Hunterx700 and hiccup-horrendous-haddock-iii for beta-ing this! 3

If it's not apparent from the story, this takes place at least a decade after Pokemon Sun and Moon.

I guess it needs to be said, but the currently prevailing theory is that Mohn is Lillie and Gladion's father. The theory goes that after being sucked into a wormhole, he somehow made his way out into the Poke Pelago.

As always, my tumblr is llamastheflying if you wanna hit me up with any questions or complaints.

* * *

Mornings used to be his least favorite time of day, but that was before Gladion carved out a place in his life.

Hau blindly reached behind him to silence the shrill alarm that had awoken him from blissful dreams. Successful, he cuddled back into the warm, bare body beside him, nuzzling his face into Gladion's neck.

"Don't go back to sleep, you idiot," came a sleepy murmur.

"'m not gonna," Hau mumbled back as he kissed his way up Gladion's neck to his pierced ear. He pulled his fiance closer to his chest, minding the bandages still wrapped around his middle. "Maybe I just want to spend a little time with you before I leave."

"Maybe I want to get more sleep," Gladion complained before groaning and burying his head into his pillow. Undeterred, Hau carefully rolled Gladion over before guiding them so he was on his back with Gladion straddling him.

"Are you sure?" Hau teased as he rolled his hips up against Gladion, enjoying the way he moaned softly. In the dull morning light, he could see the blush on Gladion's neck start to spread to stain his chest and face.

"Yes, but my fiance isn't going to let me," Gladion replied with reproach in his voice. They traded lazy, sloppy kisses for a while until another alarm shrieked through the silence of the morning.

"You're going to be late," Gladion pointed out.

"No, I'm not," Hau said before kissing Gladion softly. "I still have plenty of time."

Gladion glanced to the side and groaned when he saw the time on their alarm clock.

"Did you wake me up early just so you could do that?" Gladion demanded as Hau got up and pulled on his pajama pants. Gladion sat up to watch him putter around their room.

"Maybe. Are you really all that mad, though?"

"What I'm mad about is that you're making me stay home."

"Glad, we've talked about this already. I don't want you wandering around Ultraspace while you're still recovering. Besides," he said as Gladion yawned, "I don't think you have the energy to come with."

Hau gently pushed Gladion back down against the bed and pulled the covers up around his shoulders. With a grumble of protest, Gladion flipped on his side and curled up under the blankets. Hau heard him mumble, "I love you. Be careful."

Hau pressed a kiss to his forehead before catching his lips with his own."

"I love you too," he told Gladion, "and I will. I'll see you tonight."

He heard Gladion's breathing even out as he fell back asleep as he closed the door.

* * *

Even with a powerful Charizard, getting to the far side of Poni Canyon was a challenge. The odd magnetic fields in the canyon disturbed the air currents above it, often times causing the wind to buffet harshly against the Charizard and toss them off course. To complicated matters, the more aerially inclined Pokemon who called the canyon home were extremely territorial and unused to human intruders. Hau hadn't been lying when he admitted to waking up Gladion early to spend time with him, but he'd also wanted to get a headstart on venturing to the canyon.

He was dropped off by the Charizard at the Altar of the Moone only a few minutes past the agreed upon meeting time. He was met with the sight of an ever immaculate Cynthia with Moon and Hapu at her side. Mina sat at the edge of the Altar, seemingly sketching the sunrise. Hau privately wished he possessed Cynthia's intimidating aura as he took in her pristine appearance. Apparently she hadn't encountered any trouble with rogue Pokemon on her way this morning.

"Good morning, Hau," Cynthia greeted as he approached them. Hapu gave him a small nod as she stroked her Mudsdale's nose. Moon seemed to not even have noticed his appearance, preoccupied as they were with Cynthia's Togekiss that sat perched on Mudsdale's back. It preened its snow white wings just out of reach of Moon's hand attempting to stroke it.

Mina did not acknowledge his presence, but that was expected. If Hau had to guess, she'd probably been dragged to the Altar by Hapu.

"Good morning," he greeted back. "You said in your message that you were hoping to go into the Ultraspace today. Was there any particular reason you needed me?"

"Straight to business, I see. Well…" Cynthia and Hapu traded a look. Hapu's face held a hint of frustration in her furrowed brow, which was never a good sign in the small Kahuna. "We're missing a key bit of information about the ritual we're hoping to perform at the Sinjoh ruins and were hoping to see if Giratina knew anything about it."

"Okay?..." Hau looked between the two women. "I'm still not seeing where I fit into this. It's highly intelligent. Have you tried asking it?"

"We have, but it's not cooperating," Hapu told him. Cynthia shot her a look.

"Hau, I've heard from Moon that you have some psychic abilities. What exactly are you able to do?"

"Well, if they told you then you know that I'm primarily an empath, with some telepathic abilities…" The situation at hand finally clicked in his mind. "I'm not going to dive into its mind! It could drive both of us mad!"

"Hau, I wouldn't normally ask this of you, but-"

"Now hang on here just one second," Hapu interjected. "He's within his rights to say no, Cynthia. Even if he manages to escape whatever psychic hoo-hah unscathed, it could make that Giratina mighty angry. Weren't you just telling us how closely linked our two dimensions are? What happens if that side destabilizes, huh?"

"We must take that risk, I'm afraid," Cynthia said. "If you won't do it, then I will have someone else called in."

"What's the rush on this?" Hau asked. "Why do we have to force an answer out of it?"

Cynthia sighed and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Without GIratina's presence, space is rapidly destabilizing over the Spear Pillar," she told them. "It's already a crossroads for several dimensions as is, but the balance between them all has been disrupted. If we don't stabilize it soon, we won't have an actual boundary between dimensions. The resulting merger would probably destroy both as existence is created anew. So I'll ask again: will you help us, Hau?"

"I...I'm not going to invade its mind." Hau held up a hand to stay Cynthia's objection. "But maybe I can still get the information we need. It's hard to explain."

"Try," Cynthia urged.

"Every sentient being experiences emotions, unless there's something seriously wrong with them." Hau stopped, trying to think about how to explain something that came so naturally to him. "With those emotions comes a lot of context. It's like small bits of thoughts and memories come along with the emotion. It's almost like trying to listen to a conversation around the corner and only catching someone's tone of voice with the occasional word. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if we can get Giratina to react to something, I might be able to pick up on some of the memories that come with whatever emotion it experiences."

"It doesn't sound like a very reliable method…" Cynthia mused.

"It's a better plan than what you came up with," Hapu muttered with a huff. "I'd rather try this than have the damn thing rampaging across both existences."

She met Cynthia's glare with one of her own. Hau felt anxiety claw at the inside of his chest as he watched the two powerful women stare each other down. A quick glance to either side revealed that Moon and Mina either hadn't noticed or didn't care about the power struggle going on.

Finally, Cynthia sighed and said, "Fine. We'll try this. But if it doesn't work, I'm bringing in Sabrina."

Ignoring the implications of the violent psychic, Hau asked, "So what do you need to know?"

"The ritual I'm hoping to perform can summon three Pokemon into existence, not just Giratina," Cynthia explained as she massaged her temples. "The summoning circles we have the ruins are incomplete after someone vandalized them a few years ago. In addition to that, I'm unsure which one summons which Pokemon. I need you to try to get more information from Giratina on its origins. It might give us a chance at completing and using the correct circle."

"Would it know how it was created?"

"I can only hope so. Are you ready to try?"

Hau nodded. At Cynthia's beckoning, Moon finally turned their attention from Togekiss and called Nebby forth from its ball. At their instruction, it gave a powerful cry that tore the dimensions in twain and the breath was knocked out of his chest as it tackled them into the wormhole.

* * *

Gladion told him once about a liquid that humans could breathe in. It hurt to get in and out of the lungs, but it was doable. As Hau sucked in his first breath in Ultraspace, he imagined that it would be an extremely similar experience to this.

At first, Hau saw nothing but the reef like structures surrounding them. Not even the Nihilego that he'd been told greatly populated the area were around. He took care to release Null from its ball in case something happened, and was immediately glad he did so.

Null saw it before he did and it instantly whirled around to face it, growl tearing from its throat. Then, the shadows shifted slightly and whatever light filtered through the water-like atmosphere glinted off metal as gold as the ring on his finger. Giratina slithered into view, vastly different than the form it had taken earlier at the foundation when it had been released from its ball.

It studied them with eyes that burned with barely restrained hatred. Nebby hissed at it in warning.

"I think you can see that it's doing quite well for itself here," Cynthia said, not taking her eyes off of it. "You've also surely noticed that since its release here, we've had less than ten wormholes overall. Whatever it's doing is working."

Giratina melted back into the shadows, but the glow of its eyes stayed on the back of Hau's eyelids long after the red had faded into the darkness. He rubbed at them, hoping to get rid of the after effect, but his skin still prickled with the sensation of being watched.

"I'll leave you be here for a few hours," Cynthia said as she turned back to Nebby. "I think it's less likely to cooperate with the more people we have here. Besides, I think it's come to associate me with all of its misery so far. Will you be fine until my return?"

"That's probably a fair assessment. I'll be fine, it's nothing that Null and I can't handle on our own."

He waved goodbye the Champion-turned-archaeologist as he and Null were left alone in the eerily silent realm. It was interesting at first. Nothing was quite right and the relative emptiness made it safe to explore. The strange shadows belied that he wasn't quite alone though.

"I know you're there," Hau called out to the swirling darkness. "Are you planning on coming out anytime soon?"

 _No._

The sudden answer caused him to jump in his skin, but a grin soon found its way to his face once more. Null growled softly at the shadows in warning before going back to nosing along the ground behind him as Hau plopped himself down. He felt a wave of annoyance wash over him.

"I never thought that I'd see the day that a legend like you would throw a temper tantrum," he baited, conveniently ignoring the fact that Tapus were prone to such temper tantrums themselves (but Giratina didn't need to know that). He waited patiently for a response. Other than a fresh wave of annoyance, Giratina said nothing, so Hau tried again. "Obviously you must be scared if you can't show yourself to a little human like me."

 _Obviously you think I possess such low intelligence as to fall for that. Leave me be to clean up the mess that has been wrought here by you humans in the first place. I will do no more for you than this._

Hau puffed out his cheeks in annoyance as Null's nattering laugh echoed from somewhere behind him. He threw a glare at it over his shoulder, but it skittered off after something he wasn't able to see on the loamy ground. The clicking of its talons echoed off the towering reefs around them as it chase after it quarry. No doubt it was some sort of UB, small enough to slip by under Giratina's radar.

The emotion that fluttered against the edges of his mind was mostly the same annoyance as before, but it was hemmed with something new. A bit of sadness, maybe. Anger, definitely. Maybe that was a place to start digging.

"How is this our fault?" he demanded of the living shadows. "It's hardly like we asked these things to go out of control."

Red eyes blinked into existence and Hau found himself leveled with a glare that made his bones ache with the hatred it contained.

 _Has it really been so long that you humans have forgotten that our dimensions are so intimately connected?_

"No, we know that."

Another wave of anger, but this time there was a fragment of a memory. Immersing himself in it briefly, Hau was able to see other Giratinas around him. One was sharply in focus compared to the rest. They seemed to be gathered on some sort of ivory platform. Before them was something not entirely in focus, but Hau could feel the reverence towards it.

 _I don't think you do. Your hubris has caused your own downfall. If not for the binding upon me, I would rip you in two._

Another memory. This one was in Ultraspace, though Hau was unsure at first if it was the one connected with Alola or with Sinnoh. At first, the memory seemed focused on a large mountain of boulders that seemed to be perpetually spilling over a cliff edge. Something glinted in the watery sunlight, though, and Hau realized there was something golden amidst the rocks. It was bent and dented badly, but he recognized it as one of the metallic fixtures adorning Giratina's body.

"What happened to it?" he asked, before slapping a hand over his mouth. Well, the Meowth was out of the bag about his abilities. The Giratina's reaction was immediate and explosive. A dark tail whipped out and crashed against one of the reef pillars. Hau raised an arm to cover his face as debris rained down.

 _GET OUT OF MY MIND!_

"I'm not in your mind!" Hau cried out as he jumped out of the way as the shadows lashed out once more, leaving a deep cleave in the ground where he'd been standing moments before. "I swear I'm not! Let me explain!"

Undeterred from its rage, the Giratina let out a roar that made the pillars sway slightly.

 _I will not be a pawn to your machinations! No more! You understand not what you meddle with!_

The hairs on Hau's arms stood up and he quickly moved. Behind him, space seemed to collapse in on itself. The Giratina seemed to have anticipated his movement, though, and Hau watched in horror as purple energy shrieked toward him. A cry echoed out and the energy exploded, leaving Hau momentarily blinded.

When his vision cleared, a trembling Null stood in between him and the now fully formed Giratina. Its helmet now had a deep crack running through it and a piece near one of its eyes had crumbled away fully. It seemed to be holding itself up on its feet through sheer force of will.

 _Why? Why would you defend them? Your own existence was meant to be defined by servitude to their abuse._

Seemingly ignoring the Giratina, Null reached a shaking claw up and hooked it around one of the protruding spokes. It harshly tugged down and the helmet fell away as light surrounded its body.

 _You would still stand between me and him knowing what they do?_

The newly evolved Silvally adjusted its now firm stance and growled. Its crest flared and Hau was able to see that most of the feathers in it were torn.

"I'm not sure how you were treated back then, or what even happened," Hau started slowly. The Giratina's gaze snapped up to focus on him and he held his hands up in surrender. "Please, just listen. I don't know even half of what you're talking about, or why you hate us so much."

 _Why? You bound your own creator to a form more suited to serving you. You forgot my kin and neglected the balance between worlds until it affected you. We are not things to further your own ambitions._

"You're not! Maybe for some people that's the way of things, but I don't think that's been most people's intention for a long time now."

 _Then what of binding me for use in this place? What of your companion, created only to suffer under you? What of your prying into my mind?_

"Okay, so if you'd actually listened to me at all, you'd know that wasn't the case," said Hau. The Giratina's tailed lashed violently as a wave of anger and annoyance washed over Hau. A warning growl from Null (or Silvally now, he supposed) stayed any action Giratina may have taken. "I'm an empath. I can feel your emotions which, by the way, are pretty strong right now. Sometimes your memories come attached to those emotions. I saw one where you found your friend's mask.

"As for the rest…" Hau sighed. "You were brought here because we didn't have any other option, short of making more of them." He gestured to the Silvally before him. "They were made to try to fix this problem in first place. It's not something I agree with. Again, the few bad people don't define the rest of us. Pokemon are our friends, our family. It's not like you think."

 _Fools. They would never have been truly effective._

"Well we're figuring that out now, thanks," Hau grumbled. "To be fair, I don't think the scientist that made them knew much about you. We didn't really make the connection between you and the UBs until recently."

 _You do not know much at all if you thought bringing me here was the best solution._

"We know of another solution. Kinda. That's why I'm here, I guess. We're missing pieces to this puzzle. We know about the temple, the summoning ritual. We just…don't know how to start it I guess."

Giratina's red eyes studied him for a long moment. Then, it suddenly melted back into the shadows.

"Hey!"

Both he and the Silvally flinched back as something hurtled out of the darkness. After it didn't attack them for a moment, Hau found the courage to walk up to it.

It was the golden mask he'd seen in the memory earlier.

 _If I have to help you more than this, then you deserve whatever fate comes your way._

Flipping the mask over, Hau saw some sort of sigil inscribed on the other side. Perhaps this was what Cynthia was looking for.

"Thank you!" he called out to the Giratina as the shadows slithered away.

 _You truly are idiotic if you thank the one that almost murdered you._

"Before you leave, can I ask what happened to your friend?"

The shadows stilled and for a moment, Hau thought he'd been ignored.

 _Something happened in your world that altered the landscape here. Something drastic. It was not prepared. I can only assume it was gravely wounded and trapped by those boulders, and left alone to die._

As the shadows settled back into what Hau assumed was their normal state, he felt his knees give out. Concerned, the Silvally approached him and nudged up against his side. He shifted the heavy mask to one hand so he could stroke its now bare crest.

"I don't think I can just call you Silvally, buddy," he told it as it leaned into his touch. It was still so much smaller than Gladion's Silvally, but larger and more confident in the way that it held itself than before its evolution. "That's going to get confusing really quick. How about we just stick with Null, huh?"

It chirped in response, attention already wandering after it confirmed that Hau was still in one piece. Its eyes fixated on something in the dirt and Hau watched as it carefully crept up and pounced on probably the same unseeable thing in the dirt. It let its prey go and chased after once more.

That was how Cynthia and Nebby found them upon their return a few hours later. Without a word, Hau held out the mask to Cynthia as she approached. She flipped it over and carefully traced the sigil with her finger.

"I think this is it," she told him. "Good work, Hau. This wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I think it will suffice."

Nebby cried out in joy as Null dashed up to it and Hau watched as it inspected its newly evolved friend.

"Did Type: Null evolve?" Cynthia asked. "What happened?"

"I don't think you really want to know the answer to that," Hau said as he watched the Pokemon dance around each other. "So, where to from here?"

"Well, I thought perhaps you would like to see this through to the end," Cynthia replied as Nebby opened a portal once more. "What would you say about accompanying me to the Sinjoh Ruins?

As Nebby carried them through to their dimension once more, Hau could feel wary eyes watching their departure.

* * *

After stepping out of Ultraspace, Hau's life became a whirlwind of activity. Less than twenty four hours later, he found himself saying goodbye to Gladion and on a ferry to Kanto, and then on a magnet train to Johto. He poured over what little (correct) history the Internet had on Alola on the way there, hoping to find whatever event had killed the original Giratina. There was nothing, though, and he made a note to ask Hala or Acerola when he arrived back in Alola. Perhaps they would have a better idea of something that had tipped the scales into imbalance. The flight to Sinjoh Ruins from Mahogany Town was longer and more uncomfortable than he ever imagined it would be.

Seriously, Alola had the better way of doing things. Who in their right mind wanted to fly on a Pidgeot for any length of time?

It was so, _so_ hard to contain his wonder after they landed. The archaeological dig dug down into at least twenty feet of snow. Hau was unused to snow as it was, but even his time spent on Mount Lanakila could not have prepared him for the immensity of the drifts around the ruins.

Luckily, the Pidgeot dumped him off its back at a cabin in the lower level so he wouldn't need to try navigate the drifts. Inside the cabin were a few people that didn't seem entirely surprised to see them. Cynthia had probably contacted them their arrival and she was friendly with them. Hau wondered how much time she'd spent in these ruins. She seemed particularly chummy with a hiker who more of a mountain than a man. Even with Hau's relatively newfound height, this man still towered over him.

Without much more ceremony, Cynthia led them to an imposing but worn stone building. Hau blinked away the shadows dancing across his vision as he stepped through the doorway. Inside the temple was a raised platform that Cynthia informed him was called the Mystri Stage. She was already striding across the platform with her Garchomp at her side.

The air hummed with energy and Hau felt as though his bones were vibrating as he stepped on the platform. Cynthia knelt near the symbol at the top of the triangle with her Garchomp. Under her direction, it etched a pattern into the pieces of the newly restored stone. After it finished, Cynthia dipped her fingers into a small bowl nearby and spread blood red paint over the etchings, both new and old.

He heard a shuffling sound behind him and a look over his shoulder revealed Null pacing back and forth frantically at the edge of the stage. Unown floated around it curiously and occasionally it would snap at one.

Hau hopped down off of the Mystri Stage and held out a hand towards Null. It only flicked its torn crest feathers and backed away though. It seemed to be keeping a close eye on Dawn as she stood off in one corner of the chamber with her Empoleon. Her face seemed paler than usual. Her Empoleon seemed to be fussing over her in the limited way it could, which mostly consisted of it softly tapping its sharp flipper wings against her back and shuffling its feet. She seemed to be cradling something in her hands.

As Hau watched Null, he wondered what had the Pokemon so on edge. Gladion and his team proved that other than being made in its image, Null and Silvally didn't really have a connection to Arceus.

Maybe it was just the place that set it on edge, but the other Pokemon seemed unaffected. Indeed, the Garchomp looked almost bored as it stood over its trainer and watched her was able to feel the energy humming just under his skin; Null, no doubt also felt it, and probably much more than he did with its legendary DNA.

As Dawn approached the platform, Hau withdrew the golden mask from inside the bag he carried with him. She accepted it and held it to her chest as she carefully stepped up onto the stage. An ordinary Pokeball clutched in the shaking hand that wasn't holding the mask. Unown pulsed in and out of a radius around her in some pattern that they only understood.

"Dawn, are you ready?" Cynthia called from her edge of the platform, and Dawn responded with a sharp nod.

"As ready as I can be," she said. "Cynthia...what if it doesn't listen to me?"

"Then we'll use the Red Chain. It's listened to you before, Dawn. It will now, too."

Dawn didn't look convinced, but she strode towards the center of the platform. Cynthia called back her Garchomp into its ball and joined Hau near the entrance. Hau held his breath as Dawn threw the ball.

Time itself seemed to slow. The Unown in the room exploded into a frenzy as Arceus stepped out of the flash of light from the ball. Its flat red eyes seemed apathetic at first as it peered around the room. It trained its eyes on each of them before pausing to stare down Null. The feeling Hau felt from the moment it came from its ball intensified, and he was finally able to identify it.

Hatred.

The waves of hate coming from the Pokemon in front of them were so strong that Hau placed a hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut in a bid to keep from vomiting. It reminded Hau entirely too much of the hatred he'd felt from the Giratina in Ultraspace and he studied the wheel on Arceus' back as it towered over them. He didn't have to look very far into its emotions to know that it was the source of its hatred. Why would anyone ever bind their creator, he wondered, if not for pure selfishness? Was there a way to reverse the damage that had been done to it?

With shaking hands, Dawn held out the mask towards Arceus. For a long moment, it seemed as though Arceus wasn't going to obey. Finally, it turned to the circle Cynthia had inscribed, which was now pulsing an ominous red light, as Unown frantically flew around it and threw its head back toward the sky…

And screamed.

* * *

When Hau came to, he found himself on the frigid stone ground of the temple. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he found Cynthia in a similar state nearby. Only Dawn seemed to remain standing in the middle of the platform, joined by Null.

Arceus was nowhere to be seen.

A chirp from Null as it scampered over to him prompted Dawn to look over her shoulder at him.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she cried out as Null launched itself off the platform towards him. Cynthia stirred beside him as he found himself with an armful of wiggling Pokemon. "I'm sorry I didn't help you, it was like...it was like I wasn't in my body until Silvally made a sound. I could see you guys and I was aware of what was happening, but it was like I was floating above everyone. I'm not really sure how to explain it."

"I don't think much _can_ be explained here," Hau told her.. "What happened?"

Dawn shook her head.

"I...the ritual did work." She held out what appeared to be an Apricorn ball for their inspection. "It's another one of those things I can't explain. It was like being on the inside of Arceus' mind, watching as it created existence. I know things now that I don't think anyone has any right knowing, but I couldn't even begin to describe them." She sank to her knees weakly.

Hau shoved an ecstatic Null off of his lap to clamber to his feet. The residual energy thrummed into his feet and up his legs as he stepped onto the Mystri Stage to help steady Dawn on her feet. Interestingly enough, the Unown seemed to have vanished and a quick glimpse of the platform revealed that the sigil had once again been shattered beyond recognition. Hau had to wonder, now, if vandalism wasn't actually the cause for the original shattering of the sigils years before.

Cynthia appeared to be thinking the same thing as she joined them on the platform.

"There's only one Arceus, right?" he asked. Dawn and Cynthia shared a glance.

"That we know of, yes," Cynthia answered. "But Dawn hasn't always been in possession of this Arceus. Unlike the Giratina in the Distortion World, it seems bound to the will of humans. She keeps releasing it, but it keeps allowing itself to be caught without much fuss as long as she has the Red Chain in her possession."

"Then who…?"

"Someone who finally got his greatest wish," Dawn said quietly as she stared at the broken sigils. "Someone who hated our world almost as much as he hated himself. I hope he's happier now, wherever he is."

"Hey-o! Everything alright in here?"

The hiker from earlier stood in the doorway of the temple, features almost completely shadowed from the bright sunlight behind him.

"Yes, Anthony, we're fine! Thank you!" Cynthia called back as she brushed the dust from her long black coat. The hiker wandered into the temple further and took in the shattered platform before sighing.

"All that hard work, and it's broken once more," he murmured.

"We'll get it fixed up again," Cynthia told him as she joined him in surveying the Mystri Stage. The newly etched circle was impacted in an almost perfect circle, cracks spidering out from the center. "I don't think anyone will be able to use it even if we do fix it. How's the weather looking?"

"Well, other than flying back in the dark, you should be clear," Anthony said. "The Abomasnows have mostly moved south for the season so I don't think we'll get any unexpected storms from their fighting. You should be good to head back."

Dawn handed the ball to Cynthia before hopping off the stage and stretching.

"Well, I think I've had enough mystical shenanigans for one lifetime," she announced. "Let's head back and wrap this up so we never have to mention this again."

* * *

Hau had a raised many baby Pokemon in his life, especially since he'd become a Kahuna. Admittedly, he probably even had a bit of a problem with wanting to take in every egg and small Pokemon that came his way (especially those at the Aether Nursery) and the Pichu egg that was currently babysat by his Raichu was testament to that.

The new Giratina they released in Ultraspace was no different than any baby Pokemon he'd cradled in his arms. Though it seemed mostly full grown (though it was still smaller than the Sinnoh Giratina), it watched the world with a sense of wonder, free from the hatred and cynicism of its elder. It looped happily through the heavy air as Cynthia snapped the Apricorn ball in half.

"We'll give it a few days to adjust," she decided as it curiously inspected one of the reef pillars. "Perhaps the other will provide it some guidance before we return it to its own home."

Red eyes watched on from a far corner as the young Giratina started to explore its abilities. Hau could feel sadness and relief coming from it, but as Cynthia dropped the pieces of the ball onto the ground, there was something else.

It felt like hope.

The shadows started to solidify, drawing the young Giratina's attention away from the reef. As Cynthia and Hau approached Nebby to leave Ultraspace once more, he saw the older Giratina lean its head down to gently nuzzle the other's mask.

 _Thank you. For bringing them back._

* * *

It'd been almost a year since a monsoon stranded them together on the Pelago, and more than eight months since the last harsh winds of the season brought Gladion to his doorstep. The time that had passed seemed to be its own storm, but Hau decided he wouldn't have it any other way as he finally relaxed at home as storm clouds roiled in the skies over Mele Mele.

The Sinnoh Giratina was returned to its own home by Dawn not a week after the ritual. She'd confessed over a call between the regions afterwards that it hadn't gone as she'd expected: the usually violent Pokemon had slithered off into the shadows without protest after she'd broken its ball and the portal to Turnback Cave had immediately appeared. What wasn't said in the call (but that Hau suspected) was that Arceus was probably released from its temporary bonds once more. His stomach still turned when he thought of the millenias-old anger still residing somewhere in the world, still waiting to cast down its judgement on those that would bond it. Though he felt for the Pokemon's suffering, he hoped the day would never come where the wheel on its back would shatter.

Gladion and Lillie took more delight than they should have reporting their final findings on the Beast Killer Project to the Foundation's board as well as the International Police. Gladion, in particular, emphasized the failure of the project: Faba's goal of creating near-Arceus clones would have never provided the solution needed to solve the UB problem. If anything, he argued, there was more to be learned from existing Pokemon and legends that had largely been ignored until now. Human stewardship had failed dramatically and if the Foundation was going to continue to protect Pokemon, then it ought to heed lessons from the past.

With the UB research officially shelved, Mohn's presence was no longer required at the Foundation. That wasn't to say that he disconnected from his family once more, though. As the next monsoon season rolled around, he was joined at the Poke Pelago by Lusamine. The local Bewear population took to her much better than they had with her son and while Hau thought their family had a long way to go to even start healing, he thought maybe it would be easier in a place that wasn't inundated with memories.

The first storm of the monsoon season found him and Gladion relaxing, as usual, on a couch. Rain drummed against the glass door as Null and Silvally stared mournfully out at the yard and Raichu snoozed with Cleffa in one of the beds in the corner of the room. Gladion had been saying for a while that he figured that Cleffa was near evolving, but for tonight at least it seemed that wasn't the case.

Gladion lay between Hau's legs with his head on Hau's chest, watching something on the TV as Hau read out of a book propped up against Gladion's head. Gladion cradled the strangely colored Pichu egg in his arms. From Hau had felt from it, he had a feeling that the Pichu was almost ready to make an appearance. The calmer attitudes they'd had lately certainly encouraged her that it was safe to come out and Hau hoped that he'd be able to convince Lillie to let him keep her.

"So how crazy is this thing going to be?" Gladion idly asked. Hau looked up from his book.

"This 'thing'?"

"Our wedding, you idiot."

"Most people would be a little more specific when talking about one of the biggest events of their life, Glad," he pointed out and Gladion huffed.

"Whatever. Just answer the question."

"Well you've seen the size of my family...and they'd probably really like it if we at least did a smaller traditional ceremony in addition to whatever else...and then there's our friends...and the other Kahunas and Captains…and your family and Wicke..."

Gladion groaned.

"What's the traditional bit?"

"Well, there's probably going to be canoes involved and lots of flowers and-"

"Am I allowed to give you back the ring and pretend this never happened?"

"Nope."

He groaned and dramatically flopped his head back against Hau's stomach, causing him to grunt out in pain.

"It's not going to be that bad Gladion," Hau said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Besides, I'll be by your side every step of the way. I don't think anyone is going to be able to make me let go of you that day." He pressed a kiss on top of Gladion's head.

"Fine, but you-" Gladion stopped suddenly.

"Gladion, are you okay?" Hau tried to peer at Gladion's face and yelped as his hand was suddenly grabbed and pressed against the egg. "What's going-oh."

The egg was shakily violently and Hau could feel the mind inside start to wake up from its sleep. Gladion looked back over his shoulder at him, expression fearful and worried.

"Hau, what do I do?"

Hau chuckled.

"Just hold her, Gladion, she'll do the work," he said as he smoothed a hand over the cracks spidering across the shell of the egg. They both watched as a few minutes later a Pichu tumbled out remains of the shell. Gladion held her carefully as Hau tossed the fragments to the side.

"Hi," Gladion breathed out and the Pichu cuddled into his chest. He noticed Hau watching him with an amused expression and said, "Don't look at me like that! I've only ever handled Cleffa!"

Raichu and Cleffa had woken up sometime during the hatching and made their way over to the couch. Raichu clambered up onto the couch (stepping in all the wrong places on Gladion) to nuzzle cheeks with the Pichu as Cleffa whined to be picked up. Hau finally gave in and hoisted her up on the couch so she could sit in Gladion's lap with the Pichu. Silvally and Null watched with some interest from the door, but seemed more interested in moping about the storm.

"It's a little...darker than normal, isn't it?" Gladion asked as Cleffa smooshed the poor Pichu's cheeks.

"It is," Hau admitted. "It'll fit right in here, though. I think we're all a little strange in this house."

"You most of all," Gladion mumbled as an errant spark from Pichu caused his hair to flair out with static. Hau just laughed.

"Are you sure about that?" Hau teased as he rested his head on Gladion's shoulder to watch their small family.

"Maybe, but I don't think I'd have it any other way," Gladion admitted quietly. Hau wrapped his arms around Gladion's waist and caught his lips in a kiss.

"Good," he said, "because I wouldn't either."


End file.
